Air dams, which are sometimes called spoilers, can be mounted to the lower front bumpers of vehicles such as pick-up trucks to reduce the amount of air passing beneath the vehicle. This reduces aerodynamic drag and helps increase fuel economy.
These air dams are typically relatively rigid. This can result in damage to the air dam due to the bottom of the air dam impacting the road surface, such as may occur when the truck passes over bumps in the road at speed.